Migrants’ Day is celebrated on September 1st, and within the framework of this celebration, the Pastoral of Migrants of the Diocese of Rancagua held on August 27th in the auditorium of the Bishopric the presentation of the document of the bishops of Chile “I was a stranger and they welcomed me…”. Through the voices of different actors in the migration issue, aspects of this text were made known.
On the occasion, the diocesan bishop, Monsignor Guillermo Vera, thanked the presence of authorities and representatives of organizations linked to migration at the event and delivered a message on the importance of welcoming brothers who arrive in the country, without forgetting that Christ was also a migrant. Then, José Delio Cubides, executive secretary of the Chilean Catholic Institute of Migration, INCAMI, gave a global and national view of the current migration reality. Giving another point of view to this phenomenon, Eva Acevedo Barrera, from the National Migration Service of the region, spoke about the challenges of interculturality and the paths of action that are followed in the country to ensure that papers are in order and regulations are complied with.
Father Lauro Bocchi, executive vice president of Incami, said that this document “clearly expresses the position of the Church in relation to the issue of migrants and refugees in Chile. Therefore, it is a commitment that the dioceses themselves, from their local reality, can reflect on the issue.” For this reason, he valued the fact that the pastoral care of migrants has addressed it, because in these days it is important “to have this capacity to reflect on this issue and also to position oneself, mainly, considering that migrants are people, who have a face, a name, who have an identification, who have many dreams and projects… it seems to me more than important, necessary, and for this reason I also congratulate the initiative of the diocese in promoting this meeting,” he emphasized.
For his part, José Delio Cubides, executive secretary of the Chilean Catholic Institute for Migration, INCAMI, pointed out the importance of publishing this document, because “it is an opportunity to learn the concrete data on the challenges of migration so that we can have a pastoral action that is based on this reality. That is, if I know the phenomenon of migration, its problems, its reality, I become sensitive to what the migrant is experiencing in order to take actions or pastoral positions that help me provide better service and accompaniment,” he indicated.
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